HEALTH chiefs - accused of being politically insensitive - have defended their decision to employ Indian nurses.

Razia Shamim, a non-executive member of the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and race relations stalwart in Rochdale, says the tension and military conflict between India and Pakistan makes the decision dangerous.

She told the board that the predominantly Pakistani ethnic minority community, which the trust serves, was unhappy about the recruitment drive - which aims to cut crippling staff shortages. After making inquiries Mrs Shamin was told that Pakistani and Bangladeshi nurses did not meet the NHS oversees recruitment criteria.

She said: "I accept the view that nurses from Pakistan and Bangladesh might not be up to standard, but employing Indian nurses is politically insensitive. I am not being discriminatory. As a human being I don't think it would be fair for the nurses, who would find themselves in a difficult situation working with the ethnic minority community."

But Denise Houghton, director of nursing, said: "Pakistan is not a designated area for the NHS recruitment, although we have a number of Pakistani nurses working in Oldham who have applied to the trust themselves. The Indian nurses will be coming over in early September and will have been selected like any other NHS nurses. We have selected 27 out of the 30 that were available to us. There is a national shortage of nurses, with more than 100 vacancies in the trust.

"The priority is to fill the vacancies from areas where there is a surplus of nurses. We have been involved in oversees recruitment for some years - it has always been successful - and have always been culturally sensitive."

Steven Price, chairman of the trust, suggested that the Indian nurses should meet the Pakistan nurses on arrival to show "cross-cultural integration". He said: "The main priority is to fill the vacancies with qualified people to improve patient care."